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Our Top Recommended Big Brake Upgrade Kits For Your Volkswagen Jetta
The three Tarox kits in this catalogue do not say which generation of Jetta they fit. They say 1.8i GT and 1.8 GT. The one HiSpec kit says Mk2 and nothing else. That matters in practice: if you own a Mk3 Jetta, only the three Tarox options exist for your car in this range. Own a Mk2 and there is also a HiSpec entry point at £785 that opens the question up considerably.
Four kits in total, covering 15 to 17 inch wheels and a price range from £785 to £2,280. The full Volkswagen Jetta range is on the site if you want to browse it raw. This page runs through each kit, what the disc construction means in practice, and which one makes sense for the car.
- Four kits: one from HiSpec in Dartford, three from Tarox in northern Italy
- HiSpec kit is listed for the Mk2 only; Tarox list by engine variant with no generation tag
- HiSpec 278mm uses a single-piece cast disc; every Tarox kit uses a two-piece floating disc
- All three Tarox kits include Corsa pads and braided hoses, fitted at the factory; HiSpec price pads and hoses separately
Two brands, two ways of building a brake kit
Both build their own calipers from billet aluminium and make every kit to the specific car. Where they split on the Jetta is in how they describe the fitment, and in the disc construction.
Tarox
Built at the factory in northern Italy. Calipers CNC machined from European billet alloy, hand assembled and individually tested. Discs heat treated and hand balanced to 0.05mm. All three Jetta kits use the B32 six-piston caliper and two-piece floating discs. They arrive complete, with vehicle specific braided hoses and Corsa pads already fitted. Caliper colours: black, red, blue, green or gold. Full compatibility with ABS and ESP stated.
HiSpec Motorsport
Machined in Dartford from 6082 T6 billet aluminium, calipers and pistons both. The Jetta kit is the Billet 4, a four-piston design with external boots to keep road grime out of the seals. It is made to order in up to 28 working days, with the caliper finished in your choice of black, red, blue, gold or silver. Pads and braided hoses are not included and are priced separately so you choose the compound.
Which Jetta: the question before the kit
HiSpec list their kit for the Jetta Mk2 (1984 to 1992). The listing does not extend to the Mk3 or later. If you own a Mk3 Jetta, the HiSpec 278mm is not catalogued for your car and the three Tarox kits are what the range offers you.
Tarox list their three kits as “Jetta 1.8i GT” and “Jetta 1.8 GT” without a generation number. Their fitment covers 1.8-engined Jetta models, but the exact year range is not stated on the listing. If you own a Mk3 or a non-1.8 variant and want to confirm before ordering, we will check with Tarox directly. It is the conversation Cameron has before any Tarox kit is built, and it takes five minutes.
Wheel sizes: real numbers
A larger disc needs more wheel diameter to sit inside. The figures below are confirmed for each kit: HiSpec from their own published minimum, Tarox from Tarox’s per-kit fitment data.
| Kit | Disc | Minimum wheel |
|---|---|---|
| HiSpec 278mm Billet 4 | 278 x 24mm | 15 inch |
| Tarox 300mm Sport | 300 x 26mm | 16 inch |
| Tarox 318mm Sport | 318 x 24mm | 17 inch |
| Tarox 330mm Sport | 330 x 26mm | 17 inch |
HiSpec 278mm Billet 4: the Mk2 entry on original wheels
This is the only kit on this page with a single-piece disc. The HiSpec 278mm 1P uses a cast iron single-piece rotor, which is a simpler construction than the two-piece floating discs on every Tarox kit. Two-piece floating discs let the hat and the ring expand independently under heat, which is the advantage at sustained track temperatures. On a car used mainly on the road that distinction rarely comes into it.
The caliper is HiSpec’s Billet 4: a four-piston design machined from 6082 T6 billet aluminium with external boots that keep grime out of the seals. It is the standard HiSpec road caliper and a genuine step over the single-piston sliding calipers the Mk2 came with. This kit is listed for the Mk2 specifically; if your Jetta is a later model, this one does not apply.
- £785.44 inc VAT
- Clears 15 inch wheels
- 278 x 24mm single-piece cast disc
- Four-piston Billet 4 caliper, five caliper colours
- Brackets and hardware included; pads and hoses priced separately
Tarox 300mm Sport: the complete kit at 16 inch
Moving from the HiSpec 278mm to the Tarox 300mm is not just a 22mm disc increase. You also move from a four-piston caliper and a one-piece disc to a six-piston B32 caliper and a two-piece floating disc, and the kit arrives with braided hoses and Corsa pads already fitted at the factory. Garreth’s view is that for a Mk2 on 16s that gets proper use, the Tarox 300mm is the more complete package even at the higher price, because the disc construction and the caliper both step up at the same time.
The disc is 300 x 26mm. It is listed for the Jetta 1.8i GT; if your engine or generation is different, tell us before ordering and we will confirm with Tarox.
- £1,989.79 inc VAT, complete
- Clears 16 inch wheels
- 300 x 26mm two-piece floating disc, balanced to 0.05mm
- Six-piston B32 caliper, hand assembled in Italy
- Corsa pads and braided hoses included and fitted
Tarox 318mm Sport: 17 inch territory
The 318mm kit adds 18mm of disc diameter over the 300mm and needs 17 inch wheels to clear it. One thing worth knowing: the disc is 318 x 24mm, which is 2mm thinner than both the 300mm and the 330mm kits on this page. That is how this kit is specced and it is not a data error; the 24mm figure comes directly from the product description. On a road car it is not a meaningful constraint.
B32 six-piston caliper, two-piece floating disc, pads and hoses in the box and fitted. The same complete kit arrangement as the 300mm, stepping up in diameter and in the wheel size it requires. Listed for the 1.8i GT; confirm with us if your engine or year differs.
- £2,050.00 inc VAT, complete
- Clears 17 inch wheels
- 318 x 24mm two-piece floating disc
- Six-piston B32 caliper, hand assembled in Italy
- Corsa pads and braided hoses included and fitted
Tarox 330mm Sport: the flagship at 17 inch
The 330mm is the biggest disc in the Jetta catalogue and the only kit listed under the “1.8 GT” label rather than “1.8i GT”. The disc steps back up to 26mm thick, matching the 300mm kit and adding 12mm of diameter over the 318mm. For a car used at track evenings, this is where the friction surface earns its keep: more swept area, the same complete-in-one-box Tarox build, and it still clears 17 inch wheels.
Of the three Tarox kits, this is the one Garreth would reach for on a car that gets driven hard. The £230 over the 318mm is worth it when the disc is working properly.
- £2,280.00 inc VAT, complete
- Clears 17 inch wheels
- 330 x 26mm two-piece floating disc, balanced to 0.05mm
- Six-piston B32 caliper, hand assembled in Italy
- Corsa pads and braided hoses included and fitted
If the car is on 18s
The Jetta catalogue tops out at 17 inch. There is no kit in this range that needs 18 inch wheels or uses a disc larger than 330mm. If you are already on 18s and are looking for something that fits, ring us on 0115 9893488 and we will check whether anything from the wider Tarox catalogue applies to the car. That is a question Cameron can usually answer while you are on the phone.
What is actually in each box
The prices are further apart than the finished builds are. HiSpec price their kit without pads or braided hoses so you choose the compound to suit the use; Tarox include both, with the pads already fitted at the factory. Add pads and hoses to the HiSpec figure before comparing it against any Tarox price.
| In the box | HiSpec 278mm | Tarox 300/318/330mm |
|---|---|---|
| Calipers | Billet 4, four-piston, 6082 T6 billet | B32, six-piston, billet alloy, hand assembled |
| Discs | Single-piece cast iron, 278 x 24mm | Two-piece floating, billet steel rotor and alloy bell, balanced to 0.05mm |
| Brackets and hardware | Included | Included |
| Braided hoses | Priced separately | Included, vehicle specific |
| Pads | Priced separately, your compound choice | Corsa pads, pre-fitted |
| Caliper finish | Black, red, blue, gold or silver | Black, red, blue, green or gold anodised |
| Built in | Dartford, UK, up to 28 working days | Northern Italy |
Every kit on this page compared
| Kit | Disc | Caliper | Smallest wheel | Pads and hoses | Price inc VAT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HiSpec 278mm Billet 4 | 278 x 24mm single-piece | 4 piston | 15in | Extra | £785.44 |
| Tarox 300mm Sport | 300 x 26mm two-piece floating | B32, 6 piston | 16in | Included | £1,989.79 |
| Tarox 318mm Sport | 318 x 24mm two-piece floating | B32, 6 piston | 17in | Included | £2,050.00 |
| Tarox 330mm Sport | 330 x 26mm two-piece floating | B32, 6 piston | 17in | Included | £2,280.00 |
Prices include VAT and were correct on 3 September 2026. Wheel sizes are confirmed per kit: HiSpec from their published minimum, Tarox from Tarox’s own fitment data. The 318mm disc being 24mm thick against 26mm on the kits either side of it is confirmed from the product specification.
Common questions
Is the HiSpec 278mm kit compatible with Jetta models other than the Mk2?
The HiSpec listing covers the Jetta Mk2 (1984 to 1992). It does not extend to the Mk3 or later. If you own a Mk3 and want a HiSpec kit, contact us and we will ask HiSpec whether a bracket exists for your car; nothing on this page currently covers it.
Which Tarox listing should I order for my engine and year?
All three Tarox kits are listed by engine variant (1.8i GT or 1.8 GT) without a generation number. If you are confident you have a 1.8i or 1.8 GT-engined Jetta, order the kit for your budget and wheel size. If your exact variant is less clear, tell us the year and spec before ordering and we will confirm the fitment with Tarox before anything is built.
Why is the 318mm disc thinner than the 300mm and 330mm discs?
The 318mm Tarox kit uses a 318 x 24mm disc; the 300mm and 330mm kits both use 26mm thick discs. That is how the kits are built and sold; the 24mm figure comes from the product description for this specific kit and is not a data error. On a road car the 2mm difference in thickness is not something you will notice. On a car doing repeated hard track sessions, thicker discs store more heat before they fade; on balance we would still pick the 330mm for that use.
Why do the HiSpec kits not include pads and hoses?
HiSpec price the kit bare so you choose the pad compound for the car's use: a road compound for daily driving, something more aggressive for track evenings. Both pads and braided hoses can be added to the order. We will quote the finished build so you are comparing a complete package against the Tarox all-in price.
How long before it arrives?
HiSpec kits are made to order in Dartford, allow up to 28 working days. Tarox kits are built for the specific car at the factory in Italy and lead times vary through the year, so ask when you order and we will give you the current picture.
What we would actually fit
On a Mk2 Jetta still on original 15 inch wheels, the HiSpec 278mm Billet 4 at £785.44 is the clear starting point: it fits without touching the wheels and it is a meaningful step over the factory sliding calipers. Once the wheels change and you are on 16s, Garreth would move to the Tarox 300mm. The six-piston B32 caliper and the two-piece floating disc are a proper step up, and the fact that pads and hoses arrive in the box makes it the tidier purchase.
On 17 inch wheels, the Tarox 330mm at £2,280.00 is the one Garreth would fit. The 318mm at £2,050.00 saves £230 but the 330mm has the bigger swept area and the thicker disc to go with it, and on a car doing track evenings that combination earns its money. If you own a Mk3 and want to know which Tarox kit covers your exact year and engine, ring us on 0115 9893488. Working out what fits and what does not is Cameron’s corner of the business, so have the wheel make and size ready and you will get a straight answer.